Passengers travelling between Norwich and Cambridge suffered the worst punctuality in the region in February as one in five trains arrived late.

Eastern Daily Press: Passengers between Norwich and Cambridge suffered the worst punctuality on the Greater Anglia network. Picture: ANTONY KELLYPassengers between Norwich and Cambridge suffered the worst punctuality on the Greater Anglia network. Picture: ANTONY KELLY (Image: Archant Norfolk 2015)

However most rural train passengers in Norfolk enjoyed the best punctuality in the region, with routes to the coast consistently above the national average.

Intercity trains to London had a poor month, with only 86.5pc of trains arriving on time, figures a Greater Anglia spokesman said are 'not where we would like them to be'.

The train operator blamed infrastructure failures and trespassing for the poor performance between Norwich and Cambridge where only 79.5pc of trains arrived on time.

This means commuters from Thetford, Attleborough and Wymondham waited longer for trains to arrive than any other part of the county.

However, passengers who use the Norwich to Lowestoft line enjoyed the best punctuality in Norfolk with 94.9pc of trains arriving on time, followed by Norwich to Great Yarmouth with 94.8pc, and Norwich to Sheringham with 92.9pc.

The average across the Greater Anglia network is 90.5pc, above the national average of 89.1pc.

Jamie Burles, managing director at Greater Anglia, said: 'Our aim now is to provide better punctuality more consistently across the whole network and we have invested over £20 million to date in a fleet reliability programme to help achieve this target.

'In addition, Network Rail is focusing on reducing the most disruptive track, signal and overhead line faults, removing temporary speed restrictions and getting the railway running back to normal more quickly when delays do occur.

'They are also investing significant sums to improve the medium and longer term reliability of the rail infrastructure in our region.'

Meliha Duymaz, route managing director for Network Rail Anglia, said: 'Getting passengers to where they need to be on time is what we're here to do, day in, day out.

'Furthermore, looking into the future, we're working hard to improve the railway for everyone on the Anglia route by investing £2.2bn over the next five years.'

The new timekeeping statistics comes just days before a new 15-minute delay/repay scheme is introduced on the Greater Anglia network.